Baylor Bears vs. Kansas Jayhawks College Football Betting Preview

Victor TrejosArticles, College Football, Football

The Kansas Jayhawks and Baylor Bears will collide on the turf at McLane Stadium. This crucial daytime matchup will start at 3:30 p.m. ET and fans can catch it live by tuning in to FS1.

Betting Preview: Kansas Jayhawks at Baylor Bears

In this Saturday Big 12 game, Baylor has been projected as the favorite and is currently giving up 7 points. In order to take the home favorite, moneyline gamblers would currently need to put up $300 to win $100 back on the Bears (-300). The Jayhawks are getting +220 moneyline odds. There could be some good live betting opportunities in this contest, and oddsmakers have determined the over/under (O/U) to be 59 points.

The sharp action has been siding with the Jayhawks, as the opening line was -10. The game’s O/U has yet to move after it was set initially at 59.

The Jayhawks are 2-1 against the spread (ATS) and are down 1.4 units this season. The team’s posted an Over-Under record of 1-1.

The Bears have lost 0.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. They’re 1-2 ATS and have an O/U record of 2-0.

The Jayhawks are 2-1 straight up (SU) and they haven’t faced any Big 12 competition yet. The Bears are 2-1 SU overall and are also 0-0 SU in conference play.

The Jayhawks are coming off a resounding 55-14 victory over Rutgers last weekTheir defense allowed the Scarlet Knights to run for 150 yards on 33 rush attempts, along with one rushing TD. Raheem Blackshear had a productive day for the Scarlet Knights in that one with 102 rushing yards on 19 attempts. On the offense, the Jayhawks completed 15-of-25 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown. Peyton Bender went eight-for-12 for 73 yards while Miles Kendrick completed six-of-11 for 66 yards and one touchdown. Pooka Williams Jr. (158 yards on 18 rush attempts, one TD) provided the ground attack in the win while Jeremiah Booker (three receptions, 32 yards, one TD) and Kerr Johnson Jr. (three catches, 25 yards) manned the receiving duties.

Baylor just lost a 40-27 game to Duke. The defense let the Blue Devils kill the clock by rushing for 225 yards on 44 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Johnathan Lloyd had a solid outing in the win, recording 93 yards on four catches for Duke. As a group, the Bears collectively completed 24-of-42 passes for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Charlie Brewer went 14-for-26 for 175 yards while Jalan McClendon was 10-of-16 for 95 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Jalan McClendon (51 yards on 10 rush attempts) led the ground game in the defeat as Jalen Hurd (six receptions, 57 yards) and JaMycal Hasty (four catches, 10 yards) led the pass-catching attack.

Kansas has run the ball on 58.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Baylor has an overall rush percentage of 47.1 percent. The Jayhawks have produced 224.0 rush yards per game and have six scores via handoffs this year. The Bears are totaling 172.0 rushing yards per game and have eight total rush TDs.

Based on the early season results, it appears that the Jayhawks may own the edge when it comes to RB effectiveness. Their running backs has produced 5.4 yards per carry while their defense is allowing 4.0 YPC to opponents. The Bears have recorded 5.2 yards per carry and given up 5.6 YPC to opponents.

The Jayhawks offensive scheme has averaged 162.7 yards in the air overall and has four passing TDs so far. The Bears have produced 328.0 pass yards per outing and have six total pass scores.

Kansas seems to hold an advantage in both areas of the defense. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 146.7 yards and throw for 147.7 yards per game. The Baylor defense has allowed 192.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 181.0 yards per game on the ground. The Jayhawks are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 1.51 to opponents, while the Bears have given up a 5.36 ANY/A.

Offensively, Bender has put up 260 passing yards on the year, and has completed 57 percent of his 47 attempts with two scores through the air and has yet to throw an interception. Bender’s got a 4.75 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 5.44 over the last two outings.

Charlie Brewer has completed 22-of-41 passes for 313 yards, zero TDs and one INT for Baylor. His ANY/A stands at 6.17 for the season and 8.67 over his last two outings.

When these two programs met last year, Baylor knocked off Kansas easily 38-9.

Kansas Jayhawks at Baylor Bears Free Prediction

SU Winner: Kansas, ATS Winner: Kansas, O/U: Under

Team Betting Notes

  • The Jayhawks offense has yet to create a pass play of 40+ yards, while the Bears have accounted for two such plays.
  • The Kansas defense has allowed one pass play of 40 or more yards, while Baylor has given up two such plays.
  • The Kansas offense has created 10 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Baylor has created three such runs.
  • The Jayhawks defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Bears have given up eight such runs.
  • The Baylor D has sacked opposing quarterbacks four times this season. Kansas has produced two sacks.
  • As a team, Kansas has averaged 6.6 yards per carry over its last two matchups.
  • Baylor has averaged 3.5 yards per carry over its last two.
  • Kansas was getting one point in its last game and the Over/Under was 44.5. The over cashed and Kansas covered in the 55-14 win over Rutgers.
  • Baylor was favored by 2 points in its last game and the O/U was set at 51. The over cashed and Baylor did not cover in the team’s 40-27 loss to Duke.